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30.10.08

Of the upper six, I've lived for various periods of time in the last 30 years in all but New Hampshire. In the summer of '07 when I was scouting New England for a relocation and frequently drove over the Hinesdale (NH)-Brattleboro (VT) bridge to Peterborough, Keene and Sharon for day trips, New Hampshire nearly got added to my list.

In the early 1990s, these towns were affordable, quaint and sparsely populated. By 2007, Peterborough was a show-town, Sharon an overpriced art community and Keene a food lover's paradise with some of the very best eateries around.Although it is difficult to put into words, each of the New England states are unique and have their own character. And New Hampshire is no exception--perhaps more conservative, more buttoned down than Western Massachusetts or Brattleboro, less down under than Belfast (ME), seemingly more White Collar than the Blue Collar reputation of Rhode Island and probably not as affluent as Fairfield, Connecticut.

I suspect it is the very changes I saw in Sharon, Peterborough and Keene that might contribute to a change in how folks in New Hampshire may vote this year. The geographic re-distribution from the Middle Atlantic States to New England and even from one New England state to another has increased exponentially.

In just six days we'll see whether it will remain Republican or Independent, or go Democratic.